JENKINS TWP. — Four 100-barrel fermenters were delivered to the Susquehanna Brewing Co. over the last two days, part of a $350,000 expansion project to increase beer production at the Pittston-area brewer.

The company purchased the equipment in response to increased sales and the need for additional brands of craft brews, a bright spot in the beer industry, said owners Mark Nobile and Ed Maier, the great-great-grandson of Charles Stegmaier.

“As you create more brands and have more sales, you need more capacity,” Mr. Nobile said.

They ordered the fermenters from stainless steel tank manufacturer JV Northwest in Oregon, which also manufactured the brewery’s other seven 150-barrel fermenters.

“With the seven tanks we had, we’ve been having to juggle quite a bit,” said Brewmaster Guy Hagner, who has worked in the brewing business for 30 years. “What we needed was the ability to do more different things rather than more of just one or two things.”

Each tank cost about $35,000. The total cost for delivery and installation was about $191,000. They also plan to spend about $150,000 for automation and packaging equipment, Mr. Maier said.

The expansion comes more than two years after Susquehanna Brewing Co. began brewing its first batch of beer at 635 S. Main St. in Jenkins Twp. that formerly was the United Beverage business they operated.

Since then, Mr. Maier said growth has been significant at the brewery, with sales increasing 60 percent as of June this year compared to 2013. Craft brew sales have increased and now represent 10 percent of the overall beer market, he said.

“Craft has been the only shining star in the brewing industry over the last 10 or 12 years,” Mr. Maier said. “The major domestics have lost a tremendous amount of volume.”

The Susquehanna Brewing Co. produces a diverse portfolio of beer, including five “every day” brands and six seasonal brands, and supplies beer to bars, restaurants, retail distributors and grocery stores in 52 counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Mr. Nobile said.

“When we first started, we opened up with two brands,” Mr. Nobile said. “By the end of our first year, we had four every day brands. Our first year, we did two seasonals: Oktoberfest and Peach Pumpkinberry. In year two, we started adding more seasonals.”

The numbers of employees at Susquehanna Brewing Co. increased to 15, Mr. Nobile said, and they plan to hire two more employees for brewing and bottling.

Contact the writer:

dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com

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